FOR DOUG CRAIN - POSSIBLY A RELATIVE OF YOURS IN THIS ARTICLE. The American Revolution in Nova Scotia: 1776-1781 copyright Stephen By the spring of 1776, Nova Scotia had loyalist regiments on duty at all of its major fortifications. British naval vessels guarded exposed fishing villages along the coast. The colony of New England settlers, Yorkshiremen and Scots had hunkered down, waiting for the troubles in the lower thirteen colonies to subside. However, not all threats originated outside of the colony. By May, officials in Halifax learned that the settlers of Maugerville on the St. John River had passed a number of highly disloyal resolutions at a public meeting. Seth Noble, a local clergyman, had written to George Washington and as many as 125 heads of families had signed the rebel committees resolutions. When the Nova Scotia house of assembly convened, Admiral Mariot Arbuthnot, the new lieutenant-governor, hoped that the colony could attract new settlers because it was not only the most loyal, but . . . would be found the happiest for good men to set down in. The admiral anticipated that the revolution would quickly be put down. And what better place to begin than right at home? On June 30th, the 120 soldiers aboard three British warships attacked 40 rebels who were occupying the mouth of the St. John River in Nova Scotias western Sunbury County. As a later historian put it, The American invaders were soon put to flight and retired with great precipitation. Nova Scotia had successfully fended off a force of disloyal colonists, liberating captured territory. Both rebel and British forces began their search for allies in earnest in 1776. Congress had authorized Washington to call upon Nova Scotias Natives to take up the hatchet against the English. Although they only numbered around five thousand, First Nations tribes would make valuable partners for whichever side could gain their friendship. They knew Nova Scotias terrain and rivers, and were not hampered by winter storms. Rumours that the rebels had up to 600 Native allies had started to circulate throughout the colony. Meanwhile, European re-enforcements in the form of mercenary German soldiers had arrived in Halifax in July of 1776. The most active battlefield in Nova Scotia during the American Revolution was the Atlantic coast. According to Arbuthnot, rebel privateers had done mischief in every defenceless harbour from Cape Sable to just outside of Halifax. In September, John Paul Jones, the Father of the United States Navy, attacked Canso, destroying 15 fishing vessels and then sailed to Isle de Madame where he burned ships and fisheries. In November, rebels attacked Nova Scotias Partridge Island (present day Parrsboro). Less than a week later, a rebel force comprised of 180 Nova Scotian rebels, American patriots, and Natives attacked Fort Cumberland that guarded the area now comprising the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border. They were repulsed three times before British Royal Marines and the Royal Fencible Americans relieved the fort. The rebel leader, Jonathan Eddy, and his men scattered, never to attempt an attack again. It was the only battle of the revolution to be fought on land within the borders of present-day Nova Scotia. By November 28th, Col. Joseph Gorham, the commander of the Royal Fencible Americans, offered pardon to all the rebels in the Cumberland area who would lay down their arms. One hundred Nova Scotians took him at his word. The rebel raids of 1776 continued along Nova Scotias coast communities for the entire duration of the war, despite the fact that 1,300 soldiers manned the colonys forts. When one hundred rebels tried to recapture the settlement at the mouth of the St. John River in July of 1777, their 12 whaleboats were routed by the loyalist Royal Highland Emigrant regiment. By November of that year, British forces had built Fort Howe, securing the St. John River for the rest of the revolution. The colony seemed more than ready to weather the remaining years of combat. War, however, was not necessarily in the forefront of every Nova Scotians thoughts. Riding through the colonies settlements on horseback was a young man on a mission for God. Henry Alline preached about the kingdom of God and the special role Nova Scotians had to play in the Divine Plan. Later known as the New Light Revival, Allines call to repentence found a ready audience among a people unsettled by the events of the American Revolution. New Light churches popped up all through the colony. While some historians credit Allines revival as the reason Nova Scotians did not join the rebel cause, at the very least, it had created a common religious bond in the years following the revolution. In June of 1780, rebel privateers from Machias, Maine attacked Partridge Island in the Minas Basin. Local loyalists killed three of the enemy, capturing the remainder and their vessel. Apparently unaware of how well the locals could defend themselves, rebels once again attacked the same settlement. Soldiers killed three, and captured five others. The rebel ship, however, escaped. 1781 was noteworthy for the number of sea battles fought off Nova Scotias shores. If the rebel side had not been victorious in the American Revolution, the Battle of Blomidon might have become the stuff of loyalist lore. In May, a patriot privateer captured a schooner off the mouth of the Cornwallis River that was loaded with supplies for British posts along the St. John River. Lt. Col. Crane and 30 militiamen from Partridge Island boarded a schooner and pursued the rebel vessel. However, after running out of gunpowder, and having its sails shot out, the schooner becomes an easy prize for the rebels. Lt. Benjamin Belcher from nearby Horton Landing, came to the schooners rescue, overpowering the rebels in a spirited battle off Cape Split in his sloop, the Success, The privateers escaped in their whaleboats, but Belcher managed to capture five of them the following day. Lt. Col. Crane freed his men and reclaimed his schooner. Two months later, as the Charlestown, the Vulture, and the Little Jack escorted two transport ships to Spanish River (Sydney, Cape Breton), they discovered two French frigates near the port. When the enemy ships refused to surrender, the three British vessels attacked, cannons blazing. The French ships, though larger and having more men, flee the battle. The three British vessels returned to Halifax to bury Captain Evans who had been killed by cannon fire. In the following August, two large privateer ships attacked Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotias former capital. After locking up the men, the rebels looted every house, store and shop, not even sparing the church windows. Retreating with two hostages upon hearing of a militia assembling on the edge of town, the rebels weighed anchor and fled. By late October, news arrived in Nova Scotia that General Cornwallis had surrendered to Washingtons army at Yorktown, Virginia. Unbeknownst to the loyal colony, it would be the last major battle of the revolution. Between 1781 and 1783 a tsunami wave of loyalist refugees numbering in the tens of thousands began to gather -- and Nova Scotia would never be the same. To secure permission to reprint this article contact the author at stephendavids@gmail
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 21:47:23 +0000